Have You Named a Guardian for Your Child?

It's a subject no parent wants to think about: Who would care for my child if something happened to me? It is painful to imagine your kids alone in the world without parents, but as Michael Jackson's death reminds us, it could happen to anyone. Jackson had the forethought to appoint a legal guardian for his children -- have you?

If you have yet to make arrangements for your children in the event of your death, you are not alone. Judging by the comments at Cafe Mom, many of us are loathe to even think about it. We may have some vague idea of who we would prefer and perhaps even a strong opinion on who we would not prefer, but many of us have not made it legal.

In reality, making your wishes known about who will care for your children is the easy part. Get a lawyer to draw up the necessary papers and you are done. The hard part is choosing just who to name as legal guardian. It's a huge decision in which many factors come in to play.

Your sister might be a wonderful parent, but with 5 kids of her own could she really make room in her family for yours? Your own parents might be willing and able, but depending on their age, that could spell even more upheaval and distress for your children should they pass away before the kids reach maturity. Nobody wants to plan for their own death, but as parents we have a responsibility to our children to do so. Have you done it?

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Yes, I appointed my mother, yet the document states that in the event that my mom is unable to care for my daughter, guardianship would be appointed to my sister. I wouldn't change that, because those are the two people my child knows and loves the most! I agree with SoMo, hopefully being prepared means nothing will happen!

We were "forced" to choose a guardian for our kids because we're going through the process of adopting baby #3. That's one beautiful thing about adoption, they really REALLY educated the prospective parents. Anyway, it was a difficult decision and we ended up choosing my cousin and her husband who reside in Shanghai. They're wonderful people, but the location is not ideal. In the end, we opted for family over good local friends.

I just recently did this after thinking about it for a long time. When I was in the process I posted on the truuconfessions site and didn't get very many "me too's" but a lot of comments from others about how they had nothing in place fore their children. I think people just do not want to think about it or they think that it will never be necessary.

TheTalkies

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